Whereas the races are as pedestrian as they come - immediately putting the kibosh on any plans you may have had to enjoy the online or co-op modes - the presentation that surrounds the gameplay is one of the worst attempts to sell a shoddy product to 'gangster' worshiping kids we've ever witnessed.

The only redeeming factor to Beat Down is almost everything is underlined with extra options such as negotiating, robbing, recruiting and so on. Normally, this flexibility would be welcomed but in Beat Down's case, having these extra options is akin to a Steven Seagal DVD being packaged with two discs of extras. Who cares?

If you missed the first game altogether, we suggest you get behind the wheel of Big Mutha Truckers 2 right now as it's a trucking good laugh that cannot fail to raise a smile. A hit? Truck yeah! (Sorry.)

Our only problem with The Incredible Hulk: Ultimate Destruction is that, after a while, the brainless stomping does become a little one dimensional, but then again that is the nature of the comic book licence and this is certainly a step above recent titles such as "The Fantastic Four" and "Batman Begins."

The multiplayer co-op mode is nothing to write home about, and the adversarial split-screen is nothing short of totally pointless.

If you're a social creature you need this, and even if you're a semi-hermit who refuses to let your hair down, it will make casual visitors think that you jump around when you're alone and that gives you a sexy mystique. No doubt.

An immensely enjoyable shooter with adrenaline-soaked action, a Todd McFarlane attitude and a Marilyn Manson edge. Welcome to the dark side.

While the single-player may be short work for the fans and hard going for the casuals, the multiplayer action is a massive incentive to pick up this excellent bargain buy.

While we can't see Lock-On bringing the genre back to the masses, the sheer visual appeal, the depth of the missions and ability to customise and make the game your own should see it do a lot better than recent efforts.

Unlike most other FPS titles, combat can take place at great range, as well as up-close when you and you're squad must move house to house.

No doubt the satisfaction gleaned is as alien to some as the allure of Sudoku to others, but being in that small Tactics RPG clique makes it all the sweeter.

The Live options are up there with the best of them and cover everything from team support to Live stats and leaderboards. However, as with many titles that focus on the thrills of Live play, offline it is fairly run of the mill. The game's saving grace, though, is the huge scale of every battle.

The different game modes are good for a giggle, but they aren't good enough to compensate for a tennis game that promises a great deal more than it serves up.

Yes, Colosseum is a lot like Shadow Of Rome but with number juggling and a total lack of slightly incongruous stealth sections.

Sure, the bizarre and quirky style might not be to everyone's taste, but if it is possible to create a revolution in the pinball genre, then Flipnic is the game to do it and is certainly worthy of your attention.

Crisp and detailed car models and detailed tracks filled with things to avoid or risk destroying makes for some impressive sightseeing.

FlatOut wants to be a cool racing and rallying game with an arcade edge, but it ends up being a routine disappointment. [XBM]

A fantastic port of the PC title and is incredibly addictive to play, but it could've been so much better. As it is, this is more like the Jack Sparrow of the pirate world; it doesn't quite reach the kind of class you'd expect from a pirate like One-Eyed Willy.

One particular puzzle is solved by gathering Oompa Loompas and setting them to tasks while Charlie does the more physical work such as throwing vine balls into pipes. It's as pointless a task as Sisyphus' punishment in Hades, and you have to do it five times. In a row.

A quirky curiosity, not always enjoyable to play and not always fair, either. It'll appeal to small minority - if you like the way that the game looks, then you'll get something out of it, if you don't, then you should avoid Killer7 at all costs... It's just not much fun to play.

After all, any self-respecting Halo 2 Live player who actually misses out on these nine new maps is probably beyond help anyway.

No matter how you approach Maximum Impact, it will disappoint. In trying to drag a 2D series into three dimensions, SNK Playmore has forgotten what made its own King Of Fighters games so celebrated and what makes 3D fighting games fun to begin with.

Seven Studios has tried its best to offer a mix of gameplay elements with rescue operations and mini-games included but these aren't enough to break up the monotony of the copious smash and saunter sections.

It's rare for a game of this type to actually be more than a mad single-button-mashing romp that creates more blisters than excitement; it's just unfortunate that the whole game wasn't as polished.

In the history of PS2 platformers, there has never been an example that positively drips character like Psychonauts does. In fact, you'd be hard pushed to find an example in any genre.

Aside from a few camera issues the game is visually stunning, combine this with the show stealing repartee between the major players and Destroy All Humans! becomes an almost essential addition to your gaming galaxy.

If it's not parodying some of the world's most loved (or loathed) film franchises - such as Star Wars, The Terminator and Saving Private Ryan - it's having a pop at drugs, nationality and anything else that has been hijacked by the world of political correctness.

Had the develop[ers] only thought about what it was doing a little bit more it could have made an astonishingly good game using the source material provided.